WICHITA, Kansas — One of the country’s last remaining vaudeville theaters is about to undergo a long-awaited facelift.
Officials with the historic Orpheum Theatre in downtown Wichita announced Wednesday that they have raised most of the funding they need to launch a full-scale renovation, which will begin next summer.
Plans call for new flooring, seats, stage lights and rigging. Crews will also remodel dressing rooms, repair crumbling plaster and restore Edison-style lights that create a twinkling night sky effect across the Orpheum’s blue-painted ceiling.
“When this theater is restored, the value is going to feel completely different,” said Stacee Olden, executive director of the Orpheum. “And I do think this community is just going to embrace it fully.”
The project is estimated to cost $9.5 million. Donors so far have contributed $6.9 million, Olden said. The remaining $2.6 million will be raised as part of a new “Second Century Campaign” that kicked off Wednesday.
“The energy is palpable,” Olden said. “The people of Wichita are ready and want to see this beautiful entertainment venue in the heart of downtown restored to its former glory and continue on for a second century.”
Since it opened in 1922, Wichita’s Orpheum Theatre has endured the threat of demolition and undergone several rounds of renovations.
Of the more than 100 theaters across the country that were built for the vaudeville circuit at the turn of the last century, 17 are still in operation.
As part of Wednesday’s announcement, crews lowered the Orpheum’s original fire curtain for the first time in decades. The hand-painted curtain, designed by architect John Eberson and crafted by the Fabric Studio of Chicago more than 100 years ago, is in better shape than Orpheum officials had expected.
It shows a couple strolling through a Spanish garden and serves as a vibrant centerpiece for what Eberson envisioned as an Andalusian-style “atmospheric theater,” Olden said.
As part of next year’s renovation, a modern fire curtain will be joined to the back side of the original, preserving its face and allowing the artwork to be showcased more regularly.
“So please soak it in,” Olden said. “It may be a little longer before you see it again, but rest easy knowing that we’re going to show it much more often in the future.”
Olden, who was named executive director of the Orpheum earlier this year, said the theater will close for about a year during the restoration project, starting in June 2025.
But officials don’t want it to go completely dark.
“We would like to keep the community educated and involved while we’re doing the restoration, so we’ve talked about having a little viewing spot at the back of the theater so they can come in and see” work in progress, Olden said.
Officials hope to host First Friday events in the lobby and continue the Orpheum’s annual Anniversary Film Series at a different location, she said.
“Ultimately, our goal is to honor and highlight our historic significance while bringing the capabilities … to state-of-the-art,” Olden said. “This will not only attract talent to the theater and the stage that has held legends, but will make the patron experience one of the best in Wichita and the region.”
Suzanne Perez reports on education for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter @SuzPerezICT.
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